Animal Defenders International

Export of wild caught monkeys for vivisection blocked

A number of female monkeys trapped in the wild and shipped to Israel cannot be exported for medical research, Attorney-General Yehuda Weinstein said in June 2012.

“Since [the monkeys] have been trapped and brought to Israel to live in captivity on [Mazor] Farm for breeding, they should be allowed to end their lives in dignity and not in experimentation, nor in the suffering caused by another shipment as well as the experiments themselves,” Weinstein said.

The Mazor Farm claimed there is no choice but to use the wild caught primates, all aged around 15 years, as there are no captive-bred animals available; the experiments concern osteoarthritis. Our partners at the Israeli group Behind Closed Doors are maintaining the pressure on Israeli lab suppliers.

The NAVS and ADI continue to fight to end the trapping of wild monkeys by breeding establishments. For decades dealers have used wild capture as a way of topping up their stocks, while claiming not to sell wild-caught monkeys. After years of their babies being taken for vivisection, these wild-caught monkeys would then be sold for research, too.

Thankfully the measures secured by NAVS and ADI under the new European Directive on animal experiments will start a phase out of this wicked trade – at least for the supply of European laboratories.